Seminar on the Digitalisation of the Justice System with the Senegalese Ministry of Justice
- Details
- Published: May 12, 2021
On 5 May 2021, IRZ organised a joint online event with the Senegalese Ministry of Justice on the “Digitalisation of the Justice System in Criminal Proceedings in Germany and Senegal”. The seminar continued the exchange of experiences on the subject of the digitalisation of the justice system, which had begun in 2020, with the focus this time being on digitalisation processes in criminal proceedings and in prisons.
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in particular have clearly underlined the need to introduce a digital justice system. In the run-up to the event, discussions focussed on:
- access to files and case information for all people concerned
- the electronic archiving of documents
- networking between the different judicial bodies and the departments of the Ministry of Justice, including prison services and other ministries concerned.
The event therefore looked at digitalisation trends in criminal proceedings in Germany and Senegal, as well as current developments in this area, such as remote proceedings and the digital questioning and hearing of witnesses. Another area of focus was the opportunities and challenges presented by digitalisation processes in prisons.
The following IRZ experts took part in the seminar:
- Jasmin Kocak, a desk officer from division R B 2 “Criminal proceedings in courts of law” at the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection
- Dr. Lars Bierschenk, a judge at the Regional Court of Bonn, assigned to the Central IT service of the Justice department for NRW (ITD) at the Higher Regional court of Cologne.
- Pascal Décarpes, international consultant
The online event took place as part of the working programme on legal cooperation between the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Senegalese Ministry of Justice. IRZ plans to continue its cooperation with the Senegalese justice system in this area and to cover further important subjects in the area of criminal law and the prison system.